Yes, I agree that Nancy talked a lot of sense, and many of us who interpret traditional songs make exactly the kind of choices she was describing. I also thought Karine Polwart had a good point about the power of songs describing forbidden love across a class divide.

What I was thinking about before was the section in which Blair Dunlop spoke about the folk world frowning on personally-centred songs - which 'The Turtle dove' is not. Bu Steve G is quite right that even formulae can have enormous power and beauty.

Also I agree with Dick that 'First Time' isn't really written in the folk idiom, so it's no more surprising that Paul Buchanan would have been able to make a good job of it than that Roberta Flack did.